Seen
and HeardIt's
not Hyde Park, but Speakers' Corner gives Singapore's people greater voice By TODD CROWELL and JACINTHA STEPHENS Singapore

The old men who gather every day in Hong Lim Park for morning tai-chi exercises
had something new for their amusement. As the sun rose on Friday, Sept.
1, one Ong Chin Guan, who drives a bus for a living, walked out into the
park, plunked a wooden drawer down on the grass, climbed on it and began
to talk. His subject: the declining birthrate. Ong, 38, garnered a few moments
of fame by becoming one of the first people to speak in Singapore's new,
officially sanctioned "Speakers' Corner."

Welcome to free speech Singapore-style. Here in this corner of the city's
largest downtown park, in imitation of the famous Speakers' Corner in London's
Hyde Park, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, any citizen can speak on any subject
that pops into his or her head. Well, almost anything. Speeches that incite
racial or religious division are prohibited, and the republic's stringent
slander laws apply, not to mention the Sedition Act, the Maintenance of
Religious Harmony Act and the Penal Code.

Otherwise, anyone wanting to talk fills out a form at the nearby Kreta Ayer
Police Post (their names stay on file for five years) and shows proof of
citizenship. (The authorities don't want the corner turned into a venue
"for foreigners to pursue their own agenda," to quote Home Affairs Minister
Wong Kan Seng.) But the police don't need to be told the subject beforehand,
and no uniformed officers were seen in the crowd. The Speakers' Corner is
part of the effort by the government to loosen up, as it pursues its aim
to plug Singapore into the wide-open global economy. "This is an important
symbol," says lawyer Kevin Tan of NGO discussion group Roundtable. "It signifies
the coming of age of Singaporean civil society."

Hong Lim Park was once the scene of some of the more incendiary speeches
in Singapore's early history as a self-governing nation. In the late 1950s
and early 1960s, politicians used to haul in people by the busload to attend
mass rallies featuring fiery orators like former PM Lee Kuan Yew. Now the
speeches are tamer, ranging from the high cost of medical care to more high-minded
subjects such as "independence of the mind." Said one speaker: "I want world
peace, and let it start here." But more provocative issues were also explored,
including what has become one of the island state's hottest topics: the
recent pay raise for government ministers that has even junior cabinet members
making nearly $600,000 a year. "What do you mean good pay for ministers,"
heckled one listener. "It's ridiculous pay. Nowhere else in the world is
it so high."

Despite the uncontroversial nature of most subjects, speaker James Gomez
of NGO Think Center reckons that many Singaporeans are still fearful of
reprisal if they are too outspoken. "Singaporeans think, 'they may not get
you now but they can get you later,' " says Gomez. When he offered to take
questions from the audience, there was silence. "What kind of Speakers'
Corner is this?" Gomez baited them. "Are we allowed to ask questions?" a
soft female voice finally, meekly responded. Opposition figure Chee Soon
Juan showed up but did not speak. Last year Chee was jailed twice for speaking
in public without getting a permit. He said: "This is an illusion of freedom
of speech."

Most people found the action around Speakers' Corner, if not totally enlightening,
at least entertaining. "It's a good start, but I'd like to see how far people
will push the boundaries," says a 30-year-old healthcare professional. There
is also the question of whether public interest will be sustained. While
25 people registered for the first day, the number dipped somewhat in subsequent
days.

In the end, opening day had a kind of carnival atmosphere about it. One
man sat motionless with a handkerchief covering his mouth and a cardboard
stuck on his headband with "peace" written on it. An elderly man advocated
free holidays in Hawaii as an incentive to persuade couples to have more
children, while another person earnestly explained how the solar system
is moving and posing a threat to the earth. Complained one onlooker: "This
thing isn't organized at all." Spoken in the spirit of a true Singaporean.